Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The other day I brought a few of my snakes a couple houses down the street to show some kids that a friend day cares for (My friend asked if I could bring them down to show them.) Anyway, I pull out my female blood and she's pushing her cloaca out and leaving it gaping open. I took this as I sign of her being stressed out and quickly showed them and put her back in her bag. When I got her home to put her back in her enclosure she was fine (and has been since). Has anyone seen this type of behavior from their bloods. She is only a little girl (maybe 2') and hasn't quite gotten her confidence yet. Thanks for your thoughts on this, Scott Sullivan.

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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
—Martin Luther King Jr

When I first recieved my red blood in the mail, I was checking her out and she did do the same thing.Luckily no poop came out.Just a sign of stress.

Yes. And if your snake had been a male, it might have everted its hemipenes, as well. That’s a pretty common reaction to stress.

It's called musking. When they feel threatened, they will emit a foul odor and substance from their cloaca to try and fend off predators. Normal for a stressful situation

that what I assumed but the funny thing is there was no musk, just the cloacal gaping. I've been musked while catching wild snakes around here and it's usually a pretty nasty smell. Funny story, one time I was doing a presentation for a classroom and this class was a bit rowdy (even after being warned by the teacher to stop) and my brooksi kingsnake let out the nastiest musk I've ever smell. That class as well as the rest of the classes that day learned that I wasn't kidding when I told them they should all try and stay calm, LOL. It hasn't been a problem since that day. Take care, Scott.
-----
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
—Martin Luther King Jr